Tag: birds
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Red-tailed Hawk in the Backyard
In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed several instances of a hawk flying fast and low through our back yard. I had assumed it was an accipitor — either a Cooper’s or a sharp-shinned hawk that specializes in hunting in open forests like back yards. But while my husband and I were out working in…
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Goldfinches in the Backyard — sunshine on the wing!
I saw my first American Goldfinch thirty years ago as I was walking through a park. At first glance, I thought somebody’s parakeet had escaped. They are that bright a yellow. For the next few years, I saw them occasionally in our backyard. But they have been absent for many years. But to my delight,…
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Cold wet weather forces birds to feeder
The last week has been cold and wet here along the Front Range. A bedraggled, while still handsome, male lazuli bunting landed on our feeder for a few moments. Male Bullocks Oriel dropped in, then almost immediately flew on. I usually see these birds in the foothills just west of my house, so he probably…
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Baby Owls have Fledged!
It’s official — all three of the baby owls that I’ve been watching have fledged. The owlets have left the nest! We found the babies and one of the adults in a tree across from their nest. I know it looks like one or two of them are hanging from the branches, but that’s just…
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Baby Owls Fledging … Sort Of.
I went back over to the green belt to check on the baby owls today. They are doing well, but two of them are a little reluctant to leave the nest. Mama and a big bundle of feathers, to the right, were spotted first. Mama kept prying up bark. My husband asked if it could…
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Baby Owl Day
You know how it seems like there is an official Day for just about everything? I’ve decided to officially declare this Baby Owl Day. Why? Because I finally got to see them! I’ve been told that there are three owlets in the nest. Here, I can only see two for sure, and then mama in…
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Raven in Cottonwood Tree
I love ravens. I know, they have a bad reputation in some circles, but they are smart birds, and their behavior can be fascinating. My dogs told me about a raven in the cottonwood tree across the street this morning. For some reason, every dog I’ve ever had has gone into a barking frenzy whenever…
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Wonder Returns
When I started my blog, lo these many years ago, it was, in part, to celebrate that unexpected wonder around us. But it’s been a hard few years for all of us, and I just wasn’t feeling so wonderful. Yesterday I went out birding with Anne, one of the folks I met on my recent…
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2023 Pika Patrol, Part II
We went pika patrolling at Halfmoon Creek above Leadville this weekend, and I’m happy to say, I was wrong! Last year I said there would be no more pika at the site until a fire cleared the trees away from the talus. But this year, we saw one pika, and heard several. Not great, but…
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New Friend
For the last several years, I have been hearing a new bird call, a kind of “TEerup” call, (It’s always so hard to put a bird call into language, isn’t it?) but I could never figure out what was making it. Enter Cornell University’s Merlin bird identification app. This spring, when I heard the call,…
Amy Law, Science Geek 